Monday, May 22, 2017

In Honor of Eagles 1

I like eagles. I've spent a little time up close and personal at the Wild Raptor Center located in Eugene, OR. It's for rehabilitating and releasing all sorts of raptors including eagles, hawks, owls, and other predatory birds. If you're in the area, you should go visit.Eagles appear in at least three of my books. Most likely, they got at least a passing reference in a couple others. Today, I'll feature the book with "eagle" right in the title.

Set in the Klamath Wildlife preserves in Southern Oregon, this book is about the Bald Eagle flyout area in Bear Valley. Yes, we have Bald Eagles like they were pigeons in the park around Oregon. And we're danged proud of our big birds. The cover shot was taken by Coralie, a professional wildlife photographer and my long-time friend. See her work on her website at http://www.mrsroadrunnerphotography.com/

Book Blurb:

Fiona, Hap, Billy, and Mitch make an odd set of friends, as different from the usual high school crowd as they are from each other. Mitch, the oldest of the four, is a half-breed Native American, adopted by white parents. Troubled that he doesn't know his tribe, he avidly studies Native American history and lore. Learning the nearby Bear Valley Wildlife Refuge is a bald eagle nesting site, he wants to add an eagle feather to his medicine bag and explore the refuge as a site for his Vision Quest, a Native American rite of passage. He and his three friends get far more than an overnight campout as they encounter a black bear, an old man living in the refuge, and a pair of eagle poachers. Bringing the poachers to justice, they test their courage and gain confidence in themselves and each other.Want an excerpt?

“Hey, you guys!” Billy called out,
“Look up ahead.”

“What is that?”

“It looks like feathers. Maybe
they’re eagle feathers.”

As the kids walked nearer the pile of
feathers, their smiles dropped away as they could discern the body of
the large bird. There were feathers scattered around the body, but
someone had removed the wings and cut the talons from the legs.

“Oh, man. That’s disgusting. Did
something get it, like a bear?” Billy said as he looked down at the
remains of the large bald eagle.

“No, it wasn’t an animal. Look at
how they removed the wings. Done with a knife,” Mitch said through
teeth gritted in anger at the desecration of the beautiful bird.

The stood in silence, looking down at
the pitiful remains.

“Should we take some feathers?”
Billy asked.

“No. It wouldn’t be right. That’s
not how you’re supposed to get your feathers. You find one on the
ground because the eagle has left it for you. To do this...this is
horrible, just wrong,” Mitch said, feeling tears brimming in his
eyes. He gave them a quick swipe, but saw that Fiona’s cheeks
showed rivulets of the tears she was shedding.

“Poachers. It has to be poachers,”
she said through her tears. “We’ve got to do something.”

“We could go back to the old man’s
place. He must know the people in charge and can contact them,” Hap
suggested.

The others were nodding, ready to turn
around and head back to the old man’s cabin.

Mitch stopped. “No. We should find
the poachers first. The eagle hasn’t been dead very long.

Look,”
he said as he pointed toward the pitiful bird, “Blood is still
seeping from where they cut off the wings. I think the poachers are
close by. If we can find them, we’ll have more information to give
the people in charge.”

The others didn’t look too excited
about the idea of tracking down poachers.

“I think it’s enough just to tell
them about the eagle,” Hap said.

“That’s fine. You guys go back to
the cabin, but I’m going to find the poachers.” Mitch began
looking at the ground around where the eagle lay.

“Footprints. They head off in that
direction,” he said and started following the trail. The others
looked at each other, then one by one followed Mitch.